


Mi Breve Vida en la Villa

by tinymisamo



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26117368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinymisamo/pseuds/tinymisamo
Summary: After being kicked out from her home in Barcelona, Jeongyeon decides to adventure her way to Menorca. The plan soon goes sour as she realizes that her money can only buy her a one-night stay at a hostel. Hopeless, she begins to walk up South until she finds a vineyard. Too exhausted by then, she passes out... but someone is there to help her.
Relationships: Myoui Mina/Yoo Jeongyeon
Comments: 12
Kudos: 31





	Mi Breve Vida en la Villa

**Author's Note:**

> I suck at English tee-hee my bad.

Barcelona, the year after graduation. The high-school sweethearts just broke up. 

Jeongyeon told her it was because she was going back to South Korea, but honestly speaking, it was because she didn't love her anymore. She was staying in Spain, but she needed a less harsher excuse. What she didn't plan ahead for was homelessness.

“Largate de mi puto apartamento.” Nayeon screams at her, shutting the door on her. 

She drops her shoulders, following a deep sigh. Luggage in hand, she begins to walk towards the elevator. She doesn't have much on her, but that's okay. She'll probably figure something out before night falls. She has enough euros for a meal and a few water bottles, but that's about it.

The shaft reaches the main floor. She walks out and bumps into her childhood friend, Chaeyoung. She explains her situation to the latter, hoping that this one offers her to stay. 

“Ah… mira, I'd help you.” Chaeyoung scratches the back of her head while speaking. Jeongyeon knows that the conversation won't end well.

“You're moving in with Dahyun, aren't you?” Jeongyeon asks, seeing the boxes by the girl’s feet. Her friend gives her a nod before flashing her an apologetic smile. She waves goodbye and keeps on wandering off.

While walking around aimlessly through the streets of Barcelona, she remembers she forgot her charger back at the apartment. She swears at herself a few times, but keeps on walking. She thinks about hitchhiking, but if she had learned one thing from true crime shows, it was to never do that, especially if alone -- and a woman.

She reaches the bus station after a few hours of walking. It's worth a shot. She takes out the few euros she had with her and buys a one-way ticket down to Menorca. Why Menorca? She found it pretty and wanted to visit it.

She sits beside a young woman, around her age, who reads quietly for most of the trip. It's night time when the quiet stranger acknowledges her presence. The woman looks at her face for a silent minute, then introduces herself in fluent Korean.

“Park Jihyo, and you are?”

“Yoo Jeongyeon.” She replies flatly. The woman nods and leans her head back onto the seat. 

They don't speak much after that.

The sun rises once again, and the stranger speaks once more.

“Why Spain?”

“I studied here.” Jeongyeon replies, “you?”

“Studying abroad.” Jihyo forces an awkward smile with her reply. 

Jeongyeon nods and focuses out the window. The ocean is coming into view. They must be close to Valencia. 

She bought the cheapest ticket, which meant the bus made more stops around Spain. Jihyo waves goodbye and heads out of the bus once they stop in Ibiza. Leaving Jeongyeon alone with her thoughts once again.

It takes a few hours, and a few ferries, for the bus to stop in Menorca. Jeongyeon takes her luggage and walks off, exploring the calm island that she's in. The sunny weather has painted most of the islanders’ skin beautiful shades of caramel. She sits on the beach for most of the afternoon, then wanders into a hostel. Her last euros go on a cheap bed and a warm meal, leaving her without any money for the rest of her extravagant trip.

She bunks with a few strangers, and surprisingly finds another woman fluent in Korean. The woman, who introduces herself as Tzuyu, tells her about a beautiful vineyard close to the south of the island. Not much is known about the owner, but many stop by to take pictures outside the land.

The next morning, Jeongyeon decides to start traveling up to the mysterious vineyard. She expects the land to be close by, but it seems like that is a grave miscalculation. She walks for hours on end, but can't find a single vineyard in sight. Her walking carries on for another day, but she isn't sure if she'll last one more. She doesn't have any water, and the sun is making her delusional by now.

She reaches the beautiful vineyards, but passes out before she can even look at the plants.

_ [#] _

“Good grief,” She hears someone gasp, but is far too weak to look at them. She feels something poke her back, but feels far too drained to even groan.

“Is she dead?” Another voice asks.

“I don't think so…” The first voice replies, “Should we take her to the boss?”

“I don't know…” The second voice sighs, “But, we can't just let her die out here…”

“Yeah…” The first voice agrees.

She feels someone pick her up, and then she gets thrown onto what she expects to be a crate. She can smell grapes close to her. Someone else jumps into the crate with her, placing her head on their lap. She feels the sun hit her face, but the person shades her with their hand. 

“Moguri… she's beautiful.” It's the first voice. She can tell it's a woman now, since her voice is quite sweet and docile.

The second voice doesn't reply immediately. She hears a horse neigh in the distance, and then a whip. The crate begins to move.

“Really?” The second voice finally responds. 

Jeongyeon can feel the woman nod. The crate moves a lot, since they're probably traveling on a dirt path. She feels a piece of cloth wipe her cheeks.

“She's probably been out for a while,” the woman yells to the latter, “the dirt dried on her cheeks already.”

Jeongyeon doesn't get to finish the rest of the conversation, as she slips into unconsciousness once more. She wakes up on a mattress, with puppy-like eyes watching her. The quiet observer gasps and runs out the room without saying a word. She comes back in after a moment, followed by a woman with a straw hat.

“Woah, hey there.” The straw hat speaks first. 

She has jet black hair, bangs, and pale skin. She's wearing cowboy boots, dirty jeans, and an even dirtier buttoned shirt. She has a whip on her hip, and her hands are covered by a thin layer of dirt. Probably a farmer. 

Jeongyeon simply stares back at her. She can trace the voice back to the second woman.

“You okay?” The other woman asks softly.

She has puppy-like eyes that stare at her with caution. Slightly tanner than the straw hat girl, brunette hair, and braids. She's wearing a white sundress with pink flowers embroidered into it. She looks like a housewife. This was the woman who was with her in the cart.

“Where am I?” Jeongyeon can only ask.

The straw hat girl walks a little closer to her, taking a seat on a broken down chair besides the mattress.

“ _ Viñeros Orientales _ ,” She explains, “But how did you get here? God knows.”

“Are you okay, though?” The second girl interrupts.

She only blinks a few times. Her head is aching, mostly likely due to dehydration and the heat. She can feel herself slip out of consciousness again, but the straw hat pats her cheeks before she can.

“Bring her water, Sana.” She tells the other woman, then stares at her.

Jeongyeon closes her eyes and inhales deeply. Her body feels sore and heavy, but she knows how dangerous it is for her to slip away again.

The second girl, Sana, returns with a glass and a jug of water. Jeongyeon drinks a few glasses and attempts to sit up. Straw hat helps her do so, holding her arm in place.

“Momo, what should we do?” Sana asks straw hat. The girl hesitates for a moment. She stares at Jeongyeon cautiously, then tells Sana to fetch their boss.

Sana runs off, but comes back after a few minutes. Their boss told them to get rid of her, but neither of them follow her orders. Instead, they come up with a plan for her. 

“Okay, so listen up sleeping beauty…” Momo snaps her fingers, “You are in the stables right now…  _ la patrona  _ never comes in here, so you will never leave, understood?”

Jeongyeon nods, but worries whether the plan is a good idea. Sana tells her that she is in charge of the cooking, so it will be simple to sneak her a meal. Momo agrees, but warns her that the food might come quite late to her. Jeongyeon agrees either way, since it's either that or staying homeless.

The duo leave her alone in the room once the sun begins to settle. The room is cold and empty, and the smell of horse shit is nauseating. She can't really be picky, though. The girls are going against their bosses’ wishes to keep her alive, which is incredibly selfless of them to do. There's a small window at the other side of the room, but she's still too weak to stand up and walk over to it. The room itself doesn't even have a proper floor. It's not even a room, if she were being honest. It's a mattress placed on a closed up pen. She can hear a few horses not too far from where she's laying.

She was trying to sleep when she felt a bright flashlight illuminate her face. She finds Sana staring down at her with a bowl of Miso soup on her other hand. She hands it over to her and runs off in silence. Their routine continues this way for around a month.

By now, Jeongyeon is in desperate need of a bath. Her skin is itchy from the dirt stuck to it, but the owner of the land roams around the corner. It's raining heavily outside this morning. If she's cautious enough, she could get a rinse from it. She knows that the pair told her to stay inside, but the itching won't cease unless she cleanses herself soon. She doubts that the boss is lurking around, so she sneaks to the back of the stables.

The cool rain hits her with docility, as if understanding how delicate her aching skin is at the moment. The dirt slowly rolls off her skin, but she stays outside, enjoying the weather like a child would. This is the first time she can see just how massive the plot of land truly is. The vineyard extends out for quite a bit. In front of the stables, the villa. Three massive homes placed close together. She knew that the house closest to the stable was where the owner lives.

If she hadn’t been so engulfed by the beauty of her surroundings, she could’ve heard someone coming her way. It is far too late when she realizes that the owner of the land is standing right in front of her.

“Ray… Ray!” The woman doesn’t seem to see her standing there.

She’s young, probably around her twenties, and quite a beauty. Tan skin, dark hair, bangs, and a few moles on her face. Shorter than her, thin, with an expression of worry on her face.

“Ray, where are you..?” The woman sighs, turning herself around. She stops midway, catching Jeongyeon staring right back at her. All color drains the woman’s face as her eyes nervously dart around her. Jeongyeon puts her hands above her head, preparing for a hit, but it never comes.

“W-Who are you?” The woman asks, taking a step back. 

Jeongyeon gulps and lowers her hands. The two stare at each other for a while before she can speak again. She raises her hands up again, but this time in surrender. The woman never stops following her with her eyes. Both of them are soaked by the rain by now, but neither are moving.

“I-I am Yoo Jeongyeon, please forgive me for staying here…” Jeongyeon gives her a bow, but the woman doesn’t speak. 

They stay in silence until Momo and Sana dash into the scene. Sana goes to her boss’ side, while Momo puts herself in front of Jeongyeon. She pushes her behind her while she tries to reason with her boss. The woman is far too shocked to question her own workers, and it’s not surprising. Jeongyeon hadn’t taken care of herself for over a month. She looked like a ghost sighting, but her beauty was still visible.

“M-Miss Myoui,” Momo cuts the silence, “I know you told us to get rid of her, but she was going to die.”

The woman remains silent, but her face recovers emotion. She looks betrayed, but her eyes soften at the sight of the weak woman. Sana holds her in her arms, but the woman asks to be freed. She strides towards Momo, pushing her away with such gentleness, and stops at Jeongyeon.

“I need you to leave, please.” She whispers.

Jeongyeon nods and begins to walk backwards. Momo tries to stop her, but she shushes her by bringing her index to her lips. Sana watches the girl walk away in dismay, her eyes seeming glossier than usual. Momo takes off her straw hat, as if paying her respects, and watches the girl disappear into the vineyards.

She walks aimlessly around the plot, hoping to find her way out at some point. The dirt beneath her feets weighs her down, but she keeps on wandering around. She continues this way for a while, but a series of barks stop her. She begins to walk closer to the noise, and finds a dachshund shivering underneath a grape tree. She remembers the owner of the land calling for a certain Ray, and she realizes that the canine was who she was searching for. She squats down and calls for the scared pup. The dog smells her for a moment, then waddles to her arms. 

She takes off her dirty sweatshirt and wraps the pup up in it. Returning towards the stables yet again. Once she does reach the building, she can barely feel her fingers. The rain has numbed her in every aspect, but emotionally. Momo and Sana are gone by then, but the owner of the land is still standing in the rain. 

“Ray.” Jeongyeon can only find the strength to say the name. The woman looks her way, and sees the bundle in her arms. She extends her arms, hoping to receive her dog, but Jeongyeon falls unconscious before she can.

When she wakes up again, she’s in a beautiful room. Sana is sitting by her side on the bed, hugging her tightly when she sees her move again. The worker cups her face with her hands, then goes in for another hug. She doesn’t understand where she’s laying in.

“Oh, sleeping beauty…” Sana sighs, “I thought you weren’t going to make it this time.”

“Where am I?” Jeongyeon asks.

“Miss Myoui was incredibly thankful about Ray… so she told us to set up a room for you. It was the least she could do for your heroic act.”

“It wasn’t heroic.” Jeongyeon shakes her head.

“It was, dear.” Sana grabs her hands, “Many would’ve just left the dog to die, but you gave it warmth and used your last bit of strength to carry it back to the arms of the woman who had thrown you out.”

Jeongyeon grows silent, realizing the truth in what Sana spoke. Sana called in Momo, who stood in the hallway outside. The girl smiled sadly at Jeongyeon, taking a seat at the end of the bed. 

“You made it,” She chuckles, “Had us scared there, sleeping beauty.”

“I am sorry,” Jeongyeon apologizes, “You shouldn’t worry about me, though.”

“I think we can call each other friends, sleeping beauty.” Momo chuckles, “Actually, I think for us to be friends, you should give us your name?”

“Jeongyeon.” She introduces herself, “Yoo Jeongyeon.”

“Yoo Jeongyeon.” Sana nods, “Beautiful name for a beautiful face!”

“Indeed,” Momo lets out a tired chuckle, “Glad you can stay with us now.”

Jeongyeon nods, still a little dizzy from the incident. The two girls keep on chatting her up, but she isn’t processing the words. She can smell herself. What a foul scent she’s radiating. 

Sana’s body perks up, as if remembering something. She sends Momo out for clothes, and helps Jeongyeon enter the bathroom. She fills up the bathtub for her, and strips the young woman down. 

The feeling of warm water on her skin is such a soothing sense. Sana cleans her with a sponge. She also disentangles her hair, and soaks it with water. The smell of Lavender drowns out the previous scent, relaxing the latter.

“Gosh,” Sana sighs, “I am glad Miss Myoui decided to let you stay… a bath is such a necessary thing.” 

“Miss Myoui’s beauty is engulfing,” Jeongyeon murmurs.

Sana nods, but focuses on cleaning her. After a few scrubs and disentanglement, Jeongyeon is finally clean. Sana wraps her up in a silk towel, then helps her walk out to the bedroom. Momo waves her goodbyes and leaves the two alone once again. Sana dresses her up with the clothes left at the end of the bed. 

“Jeongyeon-ah,” Sana takes a step back and stares at her in awe, “Even before clean and cared for, your beauty was like the one of an angel’s!”

“Thank you, Sana.” Jeongyeon offers her a bow.

She realizes that the woman is actually the house’s maid. Sana helps her walk out to the hallway. Standing there, Miss Myoui and her dog. Her eyes are warm, caring, and careful now. She tries to bow to her, but almost loses her balance. Sana helps her regain her posture, winning a soft giggle from the boss.

“You’re awake,” She points out. 

Jeongyeon nods. The woman offers her a smile, then gestures for Sana to go away. Sana bows to both, and leaves them alone. Myoui takes her by the arm, and helps her walk into a spacious study at the end of the hall. 

“Thank you,” Jeongyeon murmurs again. The woman shakes her head in disappointment, but doesn’t comment any further. She helps her sit down on a chair, then speaks.

“Don’t be thankful, it was my fault your condition worsened to begin with.” Miss Myoui replies bitterly, “I wanted to apologize, kind stranger.”

“For..?” Jeongyeon asks.

“Kicking you out,” Miss Myoui explains, “I thought you were just leeching off my workers’ kindness, but it seems like I was wrong.”

“How come?” Jeongyeon pauses, “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“You’re a good soul,” Myoui grins, but seems sad, “You brought me back my beloved dog, even when I was so harsh on you… a leech wouldn’t do so… but I do have a question for you.”

“Please ask,” Jeongyeon insists.

“How did someone like you,” She pauses, “Beautiful, young, and loving… end up homeless?”

“I broke up with the person who loved me the most, and I was left with nothing. I was dumb, and came down to Menorca with only a couple of euros on me.” Jeongyeon begins to explain, “A woman I met at a hostel told me these vineyards were beautiful, but I came here without a plan, and without water.”

“I see…” Myoui nods and walks closer to the window. There is a deafening silence in the room, but she speaks again “You can stay here for as long as you desire.”

“Really?” Jeongyeon’s eyes spark with hope, “Thank you, really, but why?”

“I lived through something similar… and I wouldn’t be where I am without the help of a stranger… I think I should do what he did and just allow you to live here until you no longer want to.”

“Thank you, Miss Myoui.” Jeongyeon bows her head, but the woman shakes her head.

“You’re not going to be working for me,” Mina explains, “So please don’t be so formal… just call me Mina.”

“T-Thank you, Mina.” Jeongyeon gives her a more casual bow this time, winning her a smile from the latter.

“What’s your name, by the way?” Mina asks.

“Jeongyeon, Yoo Jeongyeon.” She introduces herself. The woman whispers something to herself in a foreign tongue, then invites her to come look out the window with her.

“Maybe I’ll tell you sometime why I decided not to hire you instead,” She explains while focusing on a cloud flying by, “but for now, please just be a friend to me.”

_ [-] _

“Ah, fuck!” She rolls down the hill, her bag falling off her shoulder. She stops at the end, but is in too much pain to move. She groans instead, but then feels a shadow over her.

“Big fall,” Someone comments, but then offers her a hand.

She takes it, and gets brought up to her feet by a beautiful woman. Her teeth resemble those of a rabbit. She bows multiple times to her, only to find out that she knew this girl previously. Her classmate, and crush, Im Nayeon. 

“You okay?” Nayeon asks, focusing attentively on her. Jeongyeon nods nervously and tries to dart away, only to fumble down once again. The girl laughs loudly, but helps her up once more.

“Fuck…” Jeongyeon sighs, “Sorry, you probably think I’m a dumb-ass now…”

“A pretty dumb-ass…” Nayeon laughs, then strokes her cheek, “You’re the Yoo from class B, right?”

“That’s me,” Jeongyeon awkwardly laughs at herself, “And you’re, well, the class president and very popular and uh pretty and uh… shit I forgot where the joke was going to go.” 

“I’m flattered,” Nayeon giggles, “You seem to know quite a bit about me… I feel kind of guilty for not knowing you.”

“No no, please don’t be!” Jeongyeon shakes her hands, “I-I wouldn’t expect you to know a member, or uh, only member of the gardening club.”

“Gardening club?” Nayeon tilts her head, “Huh, didn’t know we had one.”

“Yeah! W-We do! And, uh… we could use a few more members, but uh, yeah! That’s me, I work there.”

“You’re cute, Miss Yoo.” Nayeon chuckles.

They begin to walk together, but Jeongyeon has a slight limp. Nayeon is quick to catch this, and offers to carry her on her back. Jeongyeon tells her not to worry, but her limp only worsens. Nayeon makes her jump on, and takes her to a nearby bench where they sit down and rest.

“Thank you for helping me, President Im.” Jeongyeon thanks her, “Not many would stop and help a wallflower like me…”

“Don’t be so harsh on yourself, gardener.” Nayeon jokes, “You’re quite charming in your own quirky little way… and quite beautiful.”

“You think so?”

“Fuck yeah,” Nayeon giggles, pushing her to the side, “How about this, let’s hang out again tomorrow… if you make me laugh again, I’ll join your club.”

“Wait, really? That would be like… really awesome…” Jeongyeon smiles gleefully, “I’ll make you laugh, don’t worry.”

“Perfect,” Nayeon smiles, “I’ll get going then.”

“Yeah! Awesome! Super!” Jeongyeon stops, “God, sorry, I am being weird again… just go.”

The next day, the class president is waiting for her on the same bench. She has a small box on her lap, and she sees her standing at the other side of the path.

“Packed you lunch,” she brings the box up to her chest and taps it playfully with her fingertips. Jeongyeon is engulfed by her beauty, unable to process whether she was really living this right now.

“Oh?” She forces herself back by shaking her head. 

Nayeon scoots to the side and taps the bench. The young gardener plops down and receives the box. Nayeon watches her eagerly as she opens it up, revealing a little rose made out of salmon.

“Oh! How pretty! Did… did you make this for me?” She asks while removing her chopsticks. Nayeon nods, and unable to contain her joy breaks down into a laugh.

“I did it! I made you laugh!” Jeongyeon suddenly remembers the little bet made previously. Nayeon laughs harder, punching her shoulder.

“I thought you would forget!” Nayeon confesses. 

Jeongyeon shakes her head and stuffs her mouth with the fish. Nayeon watches her eat the meal in total ecstasy. The young gardener is adorable in every aspect, which is a rare sight for their alumni. Nayeon finds herself interested in the peculiar girl, but she doesn't need to know that quite yet.

“My god…” Jeongyeon squeals, “this is the best dish I've had in a while… and it's raw fish!” 

Nayeon laughs before answering, “Well, my dad owns a sushi place, although it's kind of silly… since we're Korean and not, well, you know, Japanese.”

“Mmm,” Jeongyeon nods, but remains focused on the food, “well tell your dad that this is some high tier salmon!”

“Will do,” Nayeon rests her hand on the girl’s thigh, as if testing her waters.

Immediately Jeongyeon freezes and gazes down at the hand on her. Nayeon can see the latter’s face turn red, which wins yet another laugh from her.

This friendship between the most popular student, and the awkward gardening club member was straight out of a cheap romance movie, but it was sweet to them. 

Nayeon started attending the gardening club, which turns out to be much more fun than she expected. Jeongyeon helps her grow her first batch of flowers, which are yellow roses. It amazed Nayeon how focused the girl would get with her flowers, often putting the flowers before her.

After a while of testing the waters with this nerdy flower girl, Nayeon decided to invite her over to her house. The two watched a few movies, but midway through their third one Nayeon decided to pause it and climb on top of her. She stared down at the girl for a while and then snuggled into her neck. She could feel her heartbeat race, which was adorable to her.

“W-What are you doing, Nayeonnie…” Jeongyeon asked her nervously. 

Nayeon popped her head back up, and stared playfully at her lips before focusing on the girl's bewildered eyes again.

“Cuddling you, is that okay?” She asked.

Jeongyeon nodded yes, to which she went back into hugging her. She felt the girl hesitate for a moment, but then felt a hand rest on top of her back. Nayeon raised her head again, but this time barely above the latter’s. She could feel the girl’s heavy breathing land directly on her nose, to which she took the chance to tease her and kiss her cheek.

It was obvious by now that the two liked each other. It didn't take brains to see it either. Nayeon would subtly grab her hand in the halls, but Jeongyeon would get far too nervous and would shoo her away. 

Nayeon perked her head up once again, staring attentively into the girl’s eyes. Whenever nervous, Jeongyeon would scrunch up her nose. This was no exception. She scrunched up her nose, making the older girl chuckle at. Instead of digging herself back into her neck, Nayeon cupped her face with one hand and gently pecked her lips.

“I-I, uh… you? well- I?” Jeongyeon began stuttering. 

Nayeon laughed at the girl’s innocence, then kissed her again. 

“Y-You like me?”

“Mhm…”

“Why?”

“Why not?” Nayeon teased.

_ [#] _

“Holy shit,” Jeongyeon gasps, looking at the calendar in front of her. It's close to her birthday by now, which means that she has been in the Villa for around two months now. Mina walks up to her side and stares at the calendar too, but subtly steals a glance in the direction of the blonde.

“Wild, huh.” Mina comments. 

Jeongyeon nods, then focuses on the younger girl. It has been quite some time, but the woman is still hard to read. She has learnt a handful of things about her by now. First thing she found out was that she was Japanese, just like Momo and Sana. The second thing was that she was younger than her, but not by much. Third, she was incredibly lonely. Although she had kicked out Jeongyeon at the start, she soon found out it was because she had a hard time trusting people. She had been hurt by someone in the past, but she wouldn't talk about it.

“It's lovely outside… how are the horses?” Mina asks Momo, who is sitting quietly by the kitchen window.

The woman sighs heavily, leaving the message in perfect clarity for the latter. As it turns out, one of the horses has been incredibly hard to ride since entering a feral like state. None of the workers knew how to handle animals, so they just ignored the animal for a while. Mina wasn't happy when she found the little secret out.

“Jeongyeon-ah,” Mina stares into the beautiful horizon in front of them, “If the horse gets better, let's ride down to the beach.”

“Sounds like a plan, Minari~” Jeongyeon hugs the woman playfully, making them both giggle.

Sana stares at them from the table, then stares at Momo. The two share a knowing look before laughing quietly. It was far too easy to tell that there was something wanting to happen between the two.

Meanwhile, back in Barcelona, Im Nayeon is a wreck.  She woke up the morning after Jeongyeon’s departure and tried calling her, but the woman never responded. She didn't think much of it, since the two had ended in rough terms, but she still felt guilty for kicking her out so abruptly. Especially since Jeongyeon had been jobless at the time. Her worry began to kick in when Kim Dahyun and Son Chaeyoung knocked at her door asking if she knew about the girl.  The trio waited a few more days, but the worries grew far too big. Nayeon drove them down to the local police station, where they filed a missing person report.  Since that day, she hasn't been able to sleep well. She had been far too harsh with her, even when knowing how delicate the girl was. She blames herself on the daily for kicking her out, but that doesn't get her back.

Back in the villa, Jeongyeon waters the flowers on Mina’s window. She can't tell just what type of flowers they are quite yet, but that makes growing them even more thrilling to her. Mina laughs at her enthusiasm, but lets her do her own thing. 

“Miss Myoui,” Momo walks into the room wearing clean clothes for once. Mina invites her to come in while Jeongyeon finishes up.

“Going to the store?” She asks, eyeing the neatly dressed farmer. 

“Yeh, Sana gave me the list… but can I get y'all anything?” Momo asks.

Jeongyeon places her gardening utensils on the ground and trots over to her. Momo laughs at her, as she resembles a child with her mannerisms.

“I want some legos! Please, be so kind and get me some!” She pleads.

Mina and Momo laugh at her, but Momo promises to look for some and heads back outside. Mina sits down at the end of the bed, still laughing.

“Legos?” She asks.

“Yeah.” Jeongyeon shrugs, “I love legos, got a problem with that?” 

“No no,” Mina shakes her head, “Just found it cute, that's all.”

“You find anything I do cute…” Jeongyeon whines.

It's true, though. Mina always calls whatever she  _ does _ cute, but she has never received an actual compliment from the woman. She feels like the girl sees her as a kid instead of a grown woman, which bothers her. Her ex also treated her the same way, and it got tiring after some time.

“I find  _ you _ cute.” Mina replies after a few moments of comfortable silence. 

Jeongyeon tries to hide her reddened cheeks, but her attempts fail. Mina smiles warmly at her, standing up from the bed and waddling her way up to her side.

“You're blushing, Jeongie~” She teases. 

Jeongyeon calculates the distance from where they stand to the bed, then body slams the petite woman onto it. The two wrestle playfully, then rest on each side of the bed. Their laughter fills up the room.

“Jeongyeon-ah…” Mina giggles, “Is it okay if I consider you my best friend? I never had one growing up, but I think if I had one it would've been like you.”

“It's okay, penguin.” Jeongyeon replies, “I'll consider you mine as well, we are best friends now.”

She raises her pinky. Mina stares at it for a long moment, then realizes she's meant to lock hers in. They laugh again, only this time they both sound shyer. It has been like this for a while now. At first, Mina would completely shut her out. It took a lot of jokes, teasing, and caring for the woman to bring her walls down. Since then, the two would often fall into long and comfortable silences. Or sometimes, brief and awkward ones. 

Mina made Jeongyeon feel valued again, and Jeongyeon gave Mina the childhood she missed out on. The Japanese girl had dropped a few hints about her rough childhood, but never went into detail. Jeongyeon knew it was better not to ask her, since she would bring her walls right back up whenever she did question her.

“If you never had a best friend,” Jeongyeon speaks after a while. Her voice barely above a whisper, she asks, “You never had a sleepover?”

“No… I'm afraid I didn't.” Mina sighs, “Are they any fun?”

“Chaeyoung-ah and I would always sleepover in middle school.” Jeongyeon began to explain, “It was quite fun, Minari… we would draw, dress up, surf the web, watch movies, eat, and so much more.”

“Like what?”

“Ah… you'll judge me, Mitang.” Jeongyeon chuckles, “The other stuff we did was… different.”

“I won't judge you, Jeongie…” Mina turns her whole body towards her. Jeongyeon stares at her for a moment, then gives her a warm grin.

“We were curious about kissing… so we'd practice with each other…” Jeongyeon hides her embarrassment underneath her hands. Mina giggles, but doesn't tease her.

“Does kissing feel… nice?” Mina asks innocently. 

“You've never had your first kiss?” Jeongyeon asks.

“No,” Mina responds, “I'm sorry I can't relate to your stories, Jeongie…”

“No worries,” Jeongyeon shrugs, “I'll just make stories with you…” 

The two stare at each other for a while. It feels like the perfect moment to finally allow their awkward lil’ tension to bloom into something, but Mina looks away with a shy expression.

“You sounded so romantic just then…” She avoids looking at her. 

“Ah… I am far from romantic, penguin.” Jeongyeon snickers for a moment.

“Really? I would've thought otherwise.” Mina whispers. 

“Yeah, I was actually quite awkward with my ex… I am not sure what she saw in me to begin with.”

“There's so much to see in you, Jeongyeon-ah.” Mina looks at her again, “So, so, so much.”

“Now you're the one who sounds romantic,” Jeongyeon jokes, but Mina doesn't laugh.

She turns her head towards her, only to find Mina staring right back at her. 

Mina hesitates for a while, then she finishes her answer.

“I think what she saw first was your angelic beauty… ethereal, unmatched, engulfing…” she begins, “but, I think she saw your heart of gold after that… and became hooked to your kind spirit…”

“Minari…” Jeongyeon calls out, “Are you talking about what my ex saw… or…”

“Or what…”

“Or what _you_ see in me?” Jeongyeon asks nervously. 

Mina grabs the back of her neck and begins to pull her closer to her, but before Jeongyeon can get her answer, Sana walks into the room.

“Miss Myoui would you like chicken breast or… OH GOODNESS!” Sana shuts the door once seeing the two so close to one another.

Mina clears her throat and rolls off the bed, following her maid into the kitchen. Jeongyeon remains on her bed, mixed feelings brewing up in her heart.  She didn't want to be upset about nothing happening, but… she was. She was upset that she had been so close to her that her Lavender perfume became intoxicating. She was mad that she hadn't done something first. Though, she shouldn't be mad. The woman needed a friend more than anything, and it would be selfish for her to want something else.  She stands up from the bed and wanders into the kitchen. Mina isn't inside, but Sana is. The two look at each other, but don't speak a word. The tension in the room is so thick that a knife could slice right through it. She excuses herself outside, hoping to get some fresh air.  Instead, she gets met by agonizing screams coming from the stables. It doesn't look like anyone else heard them, so she makes a run to them by herself. She sees Mina’s horse, Squirtle, looking back at her. As she trots inside, she finds the other horse with a newborn. This was the horse that Momo described as feral, but the reason why was as clear as water now. The horse had been close to giving birth, and had probably grown defensive.  She runs back into the main home of the villa, and calls Sana and Mina to come to the stables. The excitement of a newborn foal completely overtakes the previous awkwardness between the three. The women stare at the foal with puppy-dog eyes, then begin to think about a name for it.

“Nook!” Mina claps happily, but the name seems random to the others.

“Nook?” Sana asks.

“Like the landlord in animal crossing! He’s brown and chunky, just like the foal!” Mina explains.

“Nook…” Jeongyeon nods, “I like it.”

After a few more awes, the women return into the house. Mina heads into her study, leaving the two in the kitchen. Sana waits for her boss to leave before sitting Jeongyeon down for an interrogation.

“ _ Ostia puta, dime que he visto _ ...” 

“I don't know what to say,” Jeongyeon replies honestly, “Even _I_ don't understand what was happening…”

“ _ Madre mía _ , I never painted Miss Myoui to be a  _ tortillera… _ ” Sana laughs at her own joke for a while, but then perks up on her seat.

“What's wrong?” Jeongyeon asks, noticing the little jump.

“I know what to do to make it up to you! Since, you know, I interrupted you.” Sana trots joyfully around the kitchen.

“What?”

“What's the one thing we don't need to buy in here…” Sana smiles devilishly.

“Bread?” Jeongyeon asks.

“No, you donkey!” Sana shakes her head, “ _ Vino _ ! Wine, our exquisite wine! Take a bottle and two glasses and go into that study, hurry now!” 

Jeongyeon receives the wine from her and heads down the hall. She knocks with her foot, then opens the door for herself. Mina sits on her couch, enjoying a novel. Her cheeks immediately turn red at the sight of Jeongyeon instead of Sana.

“Jeong…”

“We need to talk, we both know that…” Jeongyeon explains while filling up each glass with wine, “so let's chat with some wine.”

“I… I don't think we should-”

“Eh, eh, eh.” Jeongyeon shakes her head, “I know you, Myoui. You'll dismiss the conversation if we don't talk about it now.”

“What do you want me to talk about? Do you want me to embarrass myself?” Mina protests, but Jeongyeon doesn't listen.

“We don't have to talk about it right now… we just need to talk about it today.” Jeongyeon explains, “Drink up. Today we'll have a sleepover at your bedroom.”

“Jeongyeon, I'm tired-”

“I don't care!” Jeongyeon sticks her tongue out, “Momoring is bringing us legos and snacks… we're having a sleepover since you never had one.”

“Ah… I should've kept my mouth shut.” Mina sighs, but she finally puts her novel to the side. Jeongyeon hands her a glass, smirking at her triumphantly.

“Drink up!” Jeongyeon chugs the red liquid down, winning herself a groan from Mina.

“You are a horrible wine consumer…” Mina scolds her, “You're supposed to smell the wine, sense the scents in your nose, then enjoy it little by little.”

“Oh…” Jeongyeon shrugs, “I wouldn't have known… all I ever drank back home was Soju!”

“Right…” Mina sighs.

“Oh! I have a question,” Jeongyeon puts down her glass by the couch. 

“Ask ahead.”

“How did you end up owning a vineyard? Didn't you say your family is from Japan?”

“Oh how I hoped you wouldn't ask that…” Mina rubs her temples, questioning whether to go on with her story, “Well, I was in a plane crash when I was a kid. I washed up on Menorca for some reason, and the late owner of the vineyard found me. He took me in, raised me, died, and I inherited the land.”

“Oh shit…” Jeongyeon stares at her, “Tragic… my bad, I shouldn't have asked.”

“No, no… it's okay.” Mina promises her, “Kind of glad you asked… I felt like I had been hiding something.”

Jeongyeon stares at her for a while. Her weak alcohol tolerance makes her feel dizzy already. She walks over to her, and before she can object, sits down on her lap. Mina feels like a rock, but in different aspects. The first one being that she freezes whenever she gets nervous, but the second being her stone-hard abs. Jeongyeon had accidentally seen the woman changing a few weeks ago, catching a quick glance at her body.  Mina relaxes after a while. She is probably as, or even more, awkward than Jeongyeon is. She hesitates about her hand placement for a good hour or so, forcing Jeongyeon to take her hands and place them on her legs for her. Jeongyeon closes her eyes and naps on the girl, which to her surprise, cuddles her this time. She can feel the girl’s fingers trace up and down her thighs, but she doesn't move. Mina pulls her head closer to her neck, allowing her to rest easily on her. She doesn't seem to realize that Jeongyeon is, quite in fact, awake.  She hums a nursery rhyme to her, which does cause her to fall asleep this time. When she wakes up again, Mina is fast asleep beneath her. She gently gets off her lap, and adjusts the sleeping woman to lay on her own lap. She runs her fingers through her hair for a while, then hears someone come in.

Momo waves at them, a little shocked at the sight, then places the lego set on the coffee table.  Jeongyeon patiently waits for the girl to wake up. However, it takes a while for Mina to do so. When she does eventually move again, Jeongyeon shows her the lego set Momo brought them. They leave the study and sneak into Mina’s room. She has a penguin plush on the centre of the bed, which makes Jeongyeon giggle a bit.  They set the box down on the bed and begin to organize the pieces. Mina is quite talented at building legos. Jeongyeon is handy at it too, but not with the same ease that the younger girl has. They build the small Minecraft set in around an hour.

“Huh, would you look at yourself!” Jeongyeon jokes, “A lego master! Why didn't you tell me!?”

“Telling you how much I loved legos would have ruined the surprise,” Mina replies happily, “I was trying to hide my excitement all afternoon.”

“Damn!” Jeongyeon laughs lightly. Mina pushes her playfully, forgetting that the girl was tipsy. Jeongyeon slips off the bed and tumbles to the ground, making them both wheeze. 

_ [-] _

“Ah, my rose died…” Nayeon frowns at her dead flower. Jeongyeon walks up to it, also frowning at the sad sight.

“How? We were taking such good care of it…” Jeongyeon groans.

The flower seemed like a sign back then. It had always been a symbol, but Jeongyeon had chosen to ignore it. When they first began to date, their roses would bloom with bright tones, beautiful leaves, and perfect thorns. Even the principal had acknowledged the beautiful sight they had in the garden. The flowers kept on blooming that way, but their quality began deteriorating, just like the relationship. 

“Why are you keeping me as a secret? Why can't you show me off like you did with Suho?” Jeongyeon cried one night. 

Nayeon didn't know what to respond with, but she still yelled at her. Telling her to shut up, to stop being so melodramatic, to stop whining for once.

“You're embarrassed of people finding out about me, aren't you?” Jeongyeon asked her, “What would they think then, huh? The president is dating a nobody… the president is a dyke! Is that why, Im Nayeon?”

“Shut up for the love of God!” Nayeon pulled her own hair, “SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!”

“TELL ME I AM WRONG, FOR FUCKS SAKE!” Jeongyeon yelled, but the girl never denied her statements.

A week later, their roses began to die. They began to grow new batches, but none of the flowers were quite as beautiful as the previous ones. The flowers seemed to get uglier every day, which demolished Jeongyeon more than anything. All the time and attention she had given her garden, for it to end up like this.

_ [#] _

“Hey Jeongie…” She spins the remaining liquor at the end of the bottle, “This is, uh… message number twenty-one I think. I hope you come back home safely… wherever you might be.”  Nayeon sighs into the phone, “The police are still searching for you, but it seems like you aren't in Barcelona anymore… since you vanished without a word, they suspect a possible kidnapping.”  The clock on her wall marks two in the morning, yet another restless night. She nibbles on her bottom lip, breaking down into tears.  “I shouldn't have kicked you out… we could've talked it out, and you wouldn't have slipped out of my arms.”  Nayeon stops herself, “I'll shut up now… please be okay, alright? Goodbye…”

Back in Menorca, Mina and Jeongyeon are laying on the roof of the main house. Mina points at a star and smiles at it.

“I'm convinced that's Don Jorge… the man who took me in as his own.” Mina comments, “Ever since he passed, I see that bright star look over me.”

“Woah,”

Mina tells her how the man looked, how old he was, his mannerisms, his hobbies, and every other detail. This was a story she had previously skipped over, but she was finally comfortable enough to start talking about it. 

“I have a wild idea, Mitang.” Jeongyeon whispers after a while.

“Tell me,”

“Let's go down to the beach.” Jeongyeon suggests. 

Mina smiles back at her, nodding her head eagerly.  They climb down the vines on the wall and trot over to the stables. Jeongyeon jumps onto Squirtle, and pulls Mina up behind her. The girl wraps her arms around her body, her hands sneaking underneath her shirt. She doesn't move them away.  Mina tells her which direction to go, and Jeongyeon gallops that way. The night is illuminated by the moon and shining stars, a beautiful sight to see. The vineyards extend out for a while, but end right before the coast is reached. Jeongyeon ties the horse up to the fence dividing the terrain from the beach, and they head down into the sand.  The waves crash very gently onto the rocks, barely emitting any noise. Mina takes her hand and guides her down to the water. They get their feet wet, then run back to the sand. They do this a couple of times, eventually sitting down on the sand to catch their breath.

“I can check off ‘visiting menorca’ from my bucket list now.” Jeongyeon jokes, taking in the beauty of the private little beach. It's surrounded by cliffs which elevate the land up. They seem like two ants if stared from above.

“This is actually the beach I washed up on.” Mina comments, “Don Jorge was bringing his things down to go fishing, but found an unconscious eleven-year-old instead.”

“What happened to your family?” Jeongyeon asks.

“Don Jorge showed me the news about my plane crash, apparently it's still unknown who died and who didn't… but even if they did survive they probably washed up in another country.”

“I'm sorry,” 

“Don’t be,” Mina pats her leg, forcing a smile. Jeongyeon can tell that the story is still sensitive to her, so she doesn't keep the conversation going.

“Minari…” Jeongyeon speaks up. The silence was painfully deafening right then, but neither of them were good at keeping conversations going.

“Hm?” Mina hums back, focusing on the moon.

“You never got to answer my question… were you describing what my _ex_ saw in me… or what _you_ see in me?”

Mina chuckles, realizing that the girl hadn't forgotten about the moment they had earlier. She stares at the sky for a long time, then shrugs.

“What do you think?” She asks back. 

Jeongyeon makes her answer quite clear.

She tenderly plants a kiss on the woman’s lips, then backs away.

“Was I right?” Jeongyeon asks. Although acting confident, she can feel her own heart race in her chest.

Mina places her hand on her neck, pulling her closer to her and planting a few kisses on the girl’s lips.

“You were right.” Mina replies, “I… was describing the things I was falling for… your beauty, your kindness, your humor, your every little thing.” 

“I was worried, Mina.” Jeongyeon confesses, “I thought my feelings were one sided…” 

“I thought so too,” Mina sighs, “I was so cruel to you when we met, I didn't… and still don't, deserve your love.”

“Mitang…” Jeongyeon shakes her head, placing the girl’s legs over her own, “Nobody is expected to allow a stranger into their home, I understand why you told me to leave.”

“I- I shouldn't have told you that, Jeongie…” Mina wipes her eye, “If Don Jorge would've thrown me out, God knows where I would be right now… yet, I couldn't do what he did for me… I was so selfish.”

“Mina,” Jeongyeon shakes her head, wiping a tear off the latter's face, “Don't be so harsh on yourself, alright? Leave that in the past, and focus on the present.”

“I'll try, Jeongyeon… I'll try.” Mina responds, her tone weak.

Jeongyeon smiles at her, but her smile isn’t happy nor pitiful. It’s nonchalant, as if she knows the two will be able to make it out together. God, but if she knew that half of Spain was searching for her… maybe she wouldn’t have smiled to begin with.

_ [-] _

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Nayeon asks worriedly.

“I- yeah! Mhm… Totally, yep. Super ready… I am more than ready, I am… mega ready!” She lies. 

Nayeon sighs and climbs off. Jeongyeon feels guilty for taking things so slowly, but her nervousness is like a natural shield for her. They have been living together for around three months now, yet she still couldn’t even change in front of the latter. Nayeon has told her it’s okay a million times already, but she can tell that the woman is getting frustrated.  She trusts her, there’s no lie in that, but she simply can’t seem to get comfortable enough. Nayeon has tried a million different ways of starting things for them, but the girl panics at the last second every single time. She tried blindfolding her, but Jeongyeon rolled away. She tried taking her shirt off slowly, but the girl said it tickled too much. She tried getting the girl to take it off herself, but she said she was too shy.

At this pace, Nayeon doubts they can get past kissing. 

“I’m sorry, Nabongs…” Jeongyeon sighs deeply and sorrowfully, “I really want to do this, like…  _ really  _ want to… but my body just, won’t let me! It’s like a curse!” 

“No, no…” Nayeon forces herself to laugh, “It’s fine, really…”

“Is it, though? You’ve been so patient with me, but I always turn you down!” Jeongyeon complains to herself but stops herself midway, “Wait, you didn’t try  _ one  _ thing.”

Nayeon looks at her for a moment, then tilts her head. Jeongyeon crawls over to her on the bed and pulls her by the collar. Nayeon smiles, realizing exactly what she meant.  She had tried everything to start things with Jeongyeon… but she hadn’t allowed the girl to try starting stuff herself.

“You sure?” Nayeon asks, still a bit worried.

“More than sure, darling…” Jeongyeon murmurs in a low, husky tone. 

Nayeon allows her to take control, and things go well for once. The night disappears into the morning, but the women are still awake. Nayeon’s makeup runs down her cheeks with the sweat, and Jeongyeon’s ponytail is hanging by a single strand of hair. Quite frankly, Nayeon had little faith in the girl at the start. She seemed far too awkward to do anything, but boy had she been wrong.  Nayeon had never loved anyone before her. She had waited most of her teen years to find someone who actually made her feel treasured, and cared for, and it looks like she finally found it. She stares at Jeongyeon for a long time, then finds the courage to whisper two words:

“ _ Te amo _ .”

Jeongyeon’s face goes from total relaxation to shock as she looks down at her girlfriend. Nayeon scrunches her nose, then lays back down on her chest. Jeongyeon can’t find any words at that very moment, surprise compelling her entirely.

“Wait, are you serious?” She asks.

“Yes,” Nayeon whispers back, “I love you, _mi amor_ .”

The two fall asleep not too long after. Jeongyeon’s smile never fades away, neither does Nayeon’s. A few more months go by after that, and the two seem even more loving than before. Nayeon studies in a college not too far from their apartment, but Jeongyeon has to travel down three stations to reach hers. It doesn’t matter to them, since each night they get to see each other again.  Jeongyeon graduates a year earlier than Nayeon, and takes her time off. She knows that she’ll go into a career that will keep her in for the rest of her life, so she decides to enjoy some free time before job-hunting. Nayeon arrives later than usual two times that week, but she doesn’t give her any attention. 

As it turns out, Nayeon had been taking a few exams so the two could go on vacation a bit earlier.  They stay in Valencia for a week. Nayeon forces her girlfriend to walk outside with her. The two share laughs, kisses, and jokes throughout the entirety of the trip, then return to their apartment in Barcelona.

Jeongyeon gives her a dog as her graduation gift. They promise to raise it together, treating the new pup as their child. Jeongyeon stays at home with the dog and takes it out for walks while Nayeon goes around the city handing in her resume. She gets a job in a small tech company as the manager’s secretary. Life is going good.  Their routine carries on like this for around a year, until the dreadful day comes.

Jeongyeon was sitting on the couch with their dog, Kookeu, when she received a call from her dear friend Chaeyoung. The girl told her to get ready and meet her at the metro. She does what she’s told and goes to her. The girl made her get in her car and drove them to Picasso’s museum. They enjoyed the art, but then Chaeyoung told her she had to go. Jeongyeon shrugged it off, not reading into it, and enjoyed the rest of the visit by herself. That is, until she found Nayeon in the park. The woman smiled at her, then dropped onto one knee and revealed a small box. She ran away, too afraid to give her a response. She hid in their bedroom until the latter came back as well.

That was the day Jeongyeon began to ignore her.

“J-Jeongie?” Nayeon sounded broken.

“I-I am sorry, please give me some time to think.” Jeongyeon lied.

She knew her answer already, but she wasn’t ready to tell the girl. She had begun to fall out of love, but she thought the girl would’ve broken up with her before all of this could happen. 

A week goes by, then comes the second dreadful day.

“Nayeon…” Jeongyeon sits her down. Nayeon stares at her, worry tainting her face. Jeongyeon inhales and drops the first bomb, “I think we should break up…” 

Nayeon doesn’t speak for a very long time, it’s scary. Jeongyeon has never seen the girl so pained before, it breaks her. Nayeon shrugs eventually, then stares at her right in the eye.

“Why?”

Jeongyeon can’t bear to look at the woman’s eyes. Her tears are far too painful to contemplate. She gulps very loudly, not ready to break the news to the girl who had loved her for so long, and so dearly.

“I don’t love you anymore.” She whispers. 

Nayeon doesn’t cry, nor does she react. She seems empty, broken, hurt. She nods, clenching her jaw, then stands up from her seat.

“I think you should leave…” She croaks.

“Nayeon…”

“I told you to leave…” Nayeon whispers again, rolling her tears back.

“Nayeon I don’t have somewhere to go-”

“Do you need me to tell you this in spanish?” Nayeon snaps, “Cause I will, Yoo… I’ll explain it to you in every fucking tongue I know… LEAVE!”

Nayeon walks towards her, making the woman retaliate until she’s against the door. Nayeon leaves her there, then stomps off into her room. Jeongyeon can hear her open their closet and drop things onto the ground. A moment later, she comes back with a bag in her hands. She drops it at her feet, opens the door, and glares at her one last time.

“Largate de mi puto apartamento.” Nayeon screams at her, shutting the door on her. 

Once Jeongyeon leaves, Nayeon drops to her knees and yells. The tears come naturally. She throws their vase with their last rose to the ground, and flips over Jeongyeon’s canvas. Nothing could’ve prepared her for what she heard that day. She had given the women all she could give her; time, space, patience, care, love, the list goes on. She thought they had it all, but her world came crashing down at once.  If she hadn’t bought that fucking ring, maybe she would’ve stayed. She knew the girl, she would’ve stayed because she would’ve waited for Nayeon to drop her instead. She cries until she loses her voice, but never does the thought of where Jeongyeon might go cross her mind.

_ [#] _

“Jeongyeon, wait!” Mina giggles as she tries to move her neck away from her. Jeongyeon murmurs something into it, but she can’t make out what this is. She almost drops her keys, but eventually the two make it into the house again. Thankfully, Sana and Momo live in the second house of the villa. The homes aren’t entirely soundproof, but it’s better than being rooms away.  The moment the door closes, Jeongyeon picks the woman up and carries her to her room, never once breaking her lips apart from hers. Mina lets out a stifled moan whenever the latter bites her lower lip. They barely make it to the bed.

“Is this okay?” Jeongyeon pulls herself away and stares down at her. 

“Yes,” Mina promises her, then pulls her back in.

Jeongyeon’s hand travels up and down her thigh, making goosebumps form all over the younger woman’s skin. Mina has her arms hanging around her neck, allowing the girl to do what she pleases with her. Literature had made Mina’s standards quite high, but somehow, Jeongyeon still manages to surpass them.  She realizes just how lucky she truly is; having heard of so many first-time horror stories. Jeongyeon is like a first-time daydream. Gentle and caring. She makes sure to ask about every little thing, which Mina finds insanely hot.

“Can I take your shirt off?” Jeongyeon asks.

“Please.” Mina replies.

Jeongyeon swiftly takes the girl’s blouse off, exposing her goddess-like figure. Mina guides her head down until she reaches her cleavage. The feeling of the woman’s warm lips on her cool skin is something beyond words. 

“Jeongyeonie?” Mina whimpers.

“Yes?”

“Be gentle.”

She is. She never once gets rough with her. She spends the night  checking if what she was doing was alright, if she wants for her to slow down, or even if she was cold. She made sure that she was always comfortable, which made everything feel a million times better. She makes her reach the stars, then helps her come back down safely.

The next morning, Mina decides to surprise her with breakfast. She hurries down into the kitchen before the girl can wake up and begins to bake dino pancakes for her. She hears Sana come in, but she’s far too focused in perfecting the batter to wave at her.  Sana stares at her neck a few times before smirking to herself. She doubts whether to tease her boss or not, but decides that a little joke has never hurt anyone before.

“Fun night?”

Mina tilts her head, unsure where the question came from, then sees her reflection on the pan. Her neck has several purple spots scattered around it. She puts her hand on top of it, then glares at her worker.

“None of your business, Minatozaki.”

“Alright, alright…” Sana surrenders with jazz hands, but laughs at her nonetheless. Mina finishes the pancakes quickly, but the girl has something else to add before she leaves.

“I’d wear a turtleneck… Momoring won’t show mercy.” 

Mina ignores her and jogs off back into her room. Jeongyeon is staring at the ceiling, and lights up immediately at the sight of her. Mina waddles her way up to her and hands her the plate with the dino themed goodies, winning herself a gasp from part of the older girl.

“STEGOSAURUS PANCAKES?” Jeongyeon looks like a baby while looking at her plate. 

Mina plops down by her side and asks her to try them.  Jeongyeon devours the plate, thanking her over and over for such a sweet surprise. She notices Mina’s neck and turns red, realizing that she hadn’t been too careful with her “love marks.” Mina catches her staring, laughs, and then tells her that Sana has caught them already.

Mina spends most of the day hidden in her study, but her peace gets interrupted by a straw hat.

“Miss Myoui…” Momo’s laugh makes her jump. She could’ve sworn that the lock to the study was on, but the farmer has found herself inside either way, “I heard there were mosquitoes around… but jeez, they really had a feast with your neck huh.”

“Y-Yes… It’s quite itchy, Hirai… Now, what do you need?”

“Oh, me?” Momo shakes her head, “Nothing, I was just… curious as to why you’re wearing Miss Yoo’s t-shirt.”

Mina freezes. 

The shirt. She hadn’t realized that she put on the wrong shirt. She gulps, then faces her worker. She forces a calm expression, but her heart is pounding in her chest.

“I need you to go buy some soap and perfume,” She lies, “Can you do so?”

“Yeah, yeah…” Momo laughs, “Will do… do you need some concealer to hide all those hickeys too?”

And with that, Momo leaves the study.

A few months go by in the villa. Jeongyeon found the courage to ask Mina to become something more official, and the woman accepted. They had been living quite happily for a while, until a late Sunday afternoon at least. 

Sana prepares her famous pork and soup for the group, leaving all of them full and sleepy.

“God, I am so tired after all that soup.” Momo laughs, but bites the last pork leg. Sana whacks her playfully and laughs along. 

Jeongyeon is resting while Mina runs her hand up and down her leg lovingly. The night is clear this night, wonderful for a good late night stroll. The four chat up for a while, then go to their respective rooms. Mina and Jeongyeon share a bedroom by now, since the two have grown quite fond of one another.  Mina stares outside for a moment, then smiles at her lover. The two lay down in silence, but this one doesn’t last long. 

Both of them jump at the sound of a bang downstairs. They hear a crowd storm into the house.  Five armed men burst into the room with flashlights. They shine their light at Jeongyeon and scream something to the remaining men, then gesture to Mina. Two men run up to her and aim their guns at her. She cooperates, but this treatment doesn’t sit right with Jeongyeon.

“Get your fucking hands off of her!” She pushes the cop that was on her away and runs towards Mina. She stands between the three, pushing the closest cop back.

“Please do not intervene with the arrest, ma’am.” The man warns.

“Arrest for what, bitch?” She pushes him again, “Show me what you’re bursting in here for! Hurry!”

“Attempted kidnapping.” The man answers. Jeongyeon shoves him away again, but he still reaches for Mina.

“Jeongyeon… don’t fight them-”

“SILENCE!” The second cop yells at Mina and aims his gun up to her again. 

Jeongyeon throws herself onto the man and punches his helmet in. Her hand begins to get soaked by his blood, but she doesn’t stop until his face is a mixture of plastic and blood. The other cops in the room pick her up and handcuff her, but she still throws kicks to the pig underneath her.

“Don’t you fucking aim that gun at her, heard me? Or I’ll make sure you can’t have any piglets, fucking pig!” Jeongyeon tries to slither her way out the other men’s arms, but they force her to stay in place.

“Yoo Jeongyeon, you’re under arrest for aggravated assault, interfering with an arrest, and assault of a police officer.”

“Kiss my ass,” Jeongyeon growls, “If lil’ sausage hands hadn't aimed his gun like a dumb-ass I wouldn’t have done shit! Now let Mina go! She didn’t kidnap me! Are you fucking insane? Or can your little pea brain not comprehend that I was here because I wanted to be.”

Mina watches the men take Jeongyeon away. Her furious screams and cursing continue until she’s thrown inside the van. Sana and Momo watch from their room as the police take her away.

_ [##] _

She had to serve two months of jail, which is nothing compared to the insane amount of community service the judge makes her pay with. 

Nayeon cried when she saw her again, throwing herself into the tall woman’s arms, but she doesn’t return the embrace. She searches for a face she knows she won’t find in Barcelona.

“Jeong…” Nayeon asks one day, “I know you’re just living here because you don’t have a house… but why are you so cold with me now? Ever since you came back… you haven’t spoken a word to me.”

“Why did you call the cops…” Jeongyeon replies coldly, “I had everything I wanted… why did you ruin it for me?”

“What?” Nayeon asks, the bitter tone catching her off-guard.

“In the villa, I had what I wanted. I was happy… why did you call the cops?” Jeongyeon asks again, her expression stripped from any emotion.

“Jeongyeon… you disappeared. What else was I left to do?” Nayeon asks, slightly disgusted about the fact that the woman even has to ask.

“You took me out of your life when you kicked me out. You should’ve just forgotten about me. That’s what I did with you, after all… but no, you’re always up in my shit.” Jeongyeon angrily knocks over a glass and steps outside. 

She has been living back in Barcelona for three years now. She had been foolish, and forgot to ask Mina for her information just in case anything happened to her. Now she didn’t even have the money to return to Menorca, nor a phone to contact. She was stuck with an ex she had no intention of speaking to, and it was making her life miserable.

“Jeongyeon, I thought you died.” Nayeon pushes her angrily, “How can you be so fucking dense? I still fucking love you, for fucks sake… it hurts so much to see you so miserable now, and knowing the reason of your misery is because of me is killing me!”

“Wanna know why I am so fucking miserable, huh? Do you really want to hurt yourself like that?” Jeongyeon asks, “I fell in love with another woman.”

“What?” Nayeon’s dismay drains her previous frustration. 

“I had a lover. Someone who wasn’t afraid of showing me to their friends, someone who didn’t find my legos childish, someone who actually liked me and my interests and my flaws and everything.”

“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?” Nayeon asks in between tears, but Jeongyeon’s silence speaks more than a thousand words.

“I was so invested in her, Im… that I didn’t even notice my phone was missing… I spent more than a year in that fucking Villa and never did the phone fly through my mind.”

“When I proposed,” Nayeon asks in a whisper, “You didn’t love me anymore, did you?”

Jeongyeon shakes her head.  “I didn’t.” She sighs, “but do you even care to know why?”

“Why?” Nayeon smiles sadly and drops her shoulders in defeat, “break me a lil’ more… go on.”

“I knew you were embarrassed of me.” Jeongyeon spits out bitterly, “and don’t try to act dumb, please. I heard you that night, before our trip to Valencia…. You told your friends you were going on a business trip…” 

“Yeah, but it was to avoid-”

“Don’t lie, Im…” Jeongyeon shakes her head, “You always had an excuse when it came to me. In high school it was ‘you were keeping me company’ or ‘getting credit for a club’... in college it was ‘your cousin was living with you’ or ‘your roommate’... and don’t try to say it was because you were in the closet…. I remember you openly coming out in every chapter of our relationship.”

“Jeongie….”

“Don’t call me that,” Jeongyeon clenches her jaw, “but please, tell me why I was so embarrassing to have around.”

“You’ll… you’ll get mad.” Nayeon whimpers, “please, just let that go… we can start again!” She reaches for her hands, but Jeongyeon gently shoves her away.

“Just tell me why!” She demands.

“Jeongyeon… the day we met…” Nayeon bites her lip, holding back her own tears, “That day we met…. fuck, I can’t say it.”

“Just go.”

“We met because I lost a bet.” Nayeon comes clean, “I lost a bet and my penalty was talking to the quiet kid, which was you…”

“I fucking knew it.” Jeongyeon’s eyes are glossy by now, “I knew it… I knew it! I knew it all along… There was no way a girl like you actually gave a shit about me…”

“Jeongyeon,” Nayeon interrupts her, “Jeongyeon, meeting you was the best thing that happened to me!”

“Bullshit.” Jeongyeon cries as she moves her arm away from her and shakes her head in disgust, “I’ll move back to Korea if I have to, but please… just let me stay here without you bothering me, okay?”

“Yeah…” Nayeon sniffles, realizing it's far too late to fix anything by now.

Jeongyeon walks past her and enters the room. Kookeu is no longer living with them. According to Chaeyoung, the dog ran away after she left. 

She lays on the mat set up for her and stares at the ceiling. She wonders whether Mina still remembers her by now. It wouldn’t be surprising if she didn’t want anything to do with her anymore.  The next morning she goes down to the lobby, but the man working there stops her before she can head out. 

A package has been delivered to her name. She takes it from him and walks back into the apartment where she opens it:

There’s wine, a sealed letter, and a one-way ticket to Menorca placed inside. She doesn’t even have to read the name on the letter to tell who it is.

She leaves that same evening, only this time Nayeon understands why.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
